Despite a ferocious first encounter the day before, with Smith’s men and the native Kuskarawaok (Nanticoke) attacking one another, Smith approached the shore, where the people stood unarmed, laden with baskets of goods to trade. A great deal of trading then took place, and given the number of people involved, it is likely that the tallak (paramount chief) himself was there; at some point he and Smith would have formally talked with each other.

Some of the Kuskarawaok’s principal trade items were whelk shells and beads. Whelks or conches are carnivorous saltwater snails that were highly prized throughout the Chesapeake region and because of their access to the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the Kuskarawaok were known as the premier traders of these shells and the beads made from them.